The prince that was promised is a prophesied leader or savior. The prince may be part of an ancient prophecy which foretells the coming of a hero to deliver the world from darkness. A "bleeding star" is supposed to herald the coming of the prince.[1] The prince is said to have "a song", the song of ice and fire.[2]
Prophecy
[edit]It is not known from where the prophecy originates, as information on the prince that was promised is scant. According to Melisandre, a red priestess of R'hllor, the prince was prophesied five thousand years ago.[3] She has mentioned the prince that was promised[4] and Azor Ahai interchangeably but tends to use the name Azor Ahai far more often. Melisandre states that "When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt."[5]
Maester Aemon mentions a bleeding star, along with smoke and salt, as being part of the heralding of the prince that was promised coming,[1] but he does not mention Azor Ahai. Archmaester Marwyn recalls that according to the prophecy, the prince would be "Born amidst salt and smoke, beneath a bleeding star."[6]
History
[edit]
When he was a boy, the future King Aegon V Targaryen recalled that King Aerys I once read about the return of dragons in a prophecy.[7] Maester Aemon believes that "the dragon must have three heads,"[1] although it is unknown if that is connected with the prince that was promised.
When he was younger, Aemon thought that Prince Rhaegar Targaryen was the prince who was promised, since the smoke would be from the fire at Summerhall and salt from the tears of those who cried there.[1]
Young Rhaegar agreed with Aemon that he might be the prince that was promised. According to Arstan Whitebeard, one day Rhaegar found something in his scrolls that changed him and he decided to become a knight, telling Ser Willem Darry, "I will require a sword and armor. It seems I must be a warrior."[8]
Rhaegar later believed that his infant son, Aegon, was the promised prince, since a comet was seen above King's Landing when the boy was born.[1] Rhaegar was killed by Lord Robert Baratheon in the Battle of the Trident,[9] however, and Aegon was killed by Ser Gregor Clegane in the Sack of King's Landing.[10]
Melisandre, a red priestess, traveled to Dragonstone in search of a prophesied prince, Azor Ahai, who will lead the war for the dawn against the Great Other, the enemy to her god, R'hllor.[11] She is convinced that Dragonstone is the place of smoke and salt amidst which Azor Ahai shall be reborn.[5][12] Melisandre believes that Stannis Baratheon, the Lord of Dragonstone, is the prince that was promised.[13]
Recent Events
[edit]A Game of Thrones
[edit]
Daenerys Targaryen hatches three dragons from petrified dragon eggs during the burning of Drogo's funeral pyre.[14]
A Clash of Kings
[edit]Daenerys's eldest brother, the late Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, appears in one of her visions in the House of the Undying in Qarth. She sees him talking to his wife, Elia Martell, discussing what he shall name his son (Aegon) and his destiny. Rhaegar states, "He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire."[2]
When at the port of Qarth with Ser Jorah Mormont, Daenerys mentions her brother said that the babe was the prince that was promised. Jorah observes that if Aegon was this prince that was promised, the promise was broken along with his skull when the Lannisters dashed his head against a wall during the Sack of King's Landing. Daenerys seems to accept this notion and asks about the song of ice and fire, but Jorah has never heard it.[15]
A Storm of Swords
[edit]On Dragonstone Melisandre explains that Stannis Baratheon is the prince that was promised,[13] and that the red comet is his herald.[3]
At the Wall Melisandre commands the Night's Watch to light nightfires to protect against the dark and she speaks of the war for the dawn. When Maester Aemon asks about the prince that was promised, Melisandre states that Stannis is Azor Ahai.[16]
A Feast for Crows
[edit]
In Braavos, Samwell Tarly tells Aemon of the rumors about Daenerys and her dragons. The maester becomes convinced that Daenerys is the prophesied leader. Remembering Septon Barth's conclusion that dragons are of no mixed gender, Aemon determines there was an error in the prophecy's translation. He tells Sam that the hero is not a prince but a princess, Daenerys.[1]
Aemon intends to find Daenerys, but he dies en route to Oldtown, however.[1] Archmaester Marwyn announces his intention to travel to her at Slaver's Bay instead.[6]
A Dance with Dragons
[edit]In Meereen Ser Barristan Selmy talks to Daenerys about her mother, Queen Rhaella, and father, King Aerys II. He mentions that her grandsire, King Jaehaerys II, commanded that they be wed after a woods witch had foretold that the prince who was promised would be born of their line. When Daenerys asks about the woods witch, Barristan mentions Summerhall and is then asked to leave by his weary queen.[17]
On the Wall a doubting Jon Snow reminds Melisandre that she has spoken of "a promised prince, born of smoke and salt", and that it seems to him that she makes nothing but mistakes.[18]
At the Temple of the Lord of Light in Volantis, Benerro preaches an ancient prophecy of a hero who will save the world from darkness. The High Priest warns that the dark eye has fallen upon Daenerys.[19]
Quotes
[edit]
Davos: A hill in a forest ... shapes in the snow ... I don't ...
Melisandre: It means that the battle is begun. The sand is running through the glass more quickly now, and man's hour on earth is almost done. We must act boldly, or all hope is lost. Westeros must unite beneath her one true king, the prince that was promised, Lord of Dragonstone and chosen of R'hllor.
Stannis: R'hllor chooses queerly, then.[13]
She talks of prophecies ... a hero reborn in the sea, living dragons hatched from dead stone ... she speaks of signs and swears they point to me. I never asked for this, no more than I asked to be king. Yet dare I disregard her?[4]
Melisandre: Swords alone cannot hold this darkness back. Only the light of the Lord can do that. Make no mistake, good sers and valiant brothers, the war we've come to fight is no petty squabble over lands and honors. Ours is a war for life itself, and should we fail the world dies with us.
Aemon: It is the war for the dawn you speak of, my lady. But where is the prince that was promised?
Melisandre: He stands before you, though you do not have the eyes to see. Stannis Baratheon is Azor Ahai come again, the warrior of fire. In him the prophecies are fulfilled. The red comet blazed across the sky to herald his coming, and he bears Lightbringer, the red sword of heroes.[16]—Melisandre and Aemon
What fools we were, who thought ourselves so wise! The error crept in from the translation. Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame. The language misled us all for a thousand years. Daenerys is the one, born amidst salt and smoke. The dragons prove it.[1]
—Aemon to Samwell Tarly
Samwell: Maester Aemon believed that Daenerys Targaryen was the fulfillment of a prophecy ... her, not Stannis, nor Prince Rhaegar, nor the princeling whose head was dashed against the wall.
Marwyn: Born amidst salt and smoke, beneath a bleeding star. I know the prophecy. Not that I would trust it.[6]—Samwell Tarly and Marwyn
Theories
[edit]Behind the Scenes
[edit]The prince that was promised may have been inspired by the Welsh legend of Mab Darogan.
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 35, Samwell IV.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 48, Daenerys IV.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 63, Davos VI.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 54, Davos V.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 25, Davos III.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 45, Samwell V.
- ↑ The Mystery Knight.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 8, Daenerys I.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 4, Eddard I.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 66, Tyrion IX.
- ↑ George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Melisandre.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 53, Jon XI.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 36, Davos IV.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 72, Daenerys X.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 63, Daenerys V.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 78, Samwell V.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 23, Daenerys IV.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 69, Jon XIII.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 27, Tyrion VII.